Meaning and history
Wálter derives from the Germanic Waltheri, meaning "power of the army," from walt, "power, authority," and heri, "army." Medieval German literature presents Walter of Aquitaine as a heroic Visigothic king, while the name was also borne by the 11th-century Saint Walter of Pontoise. The Normans brought it to England, replacing the Old English cognate Wealdhere. Notable bearers include courtier, poet, and explorer Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) and Scottish novelist Walter Scott (1771-1832), author of Ivanhoe.
20062006: 850 births, rank #356
2007: 810 births, rank #379
2008: 764 births, rank #393
2009: 789 births, rank #383
2010: 784 births, rank #372
20112011: 801 births, rank #374
2012: 805 births, rank #375
2013: 939 births, rank #342
2014: 987 births, rank #337
2015: 1,158 births, rank #309
20162016: 1,172 births, rank #302
2017: 1,366 births, rank #265
2018: 1,313 births, rank #271
2019: 1,282 births, rank #278
2020: 1,240 births, rank #272
20212021: 1,281 births, rank #271
2022: 1,278 births, rank #268
2023: 1,276 births, rank #267
2024: 1,269 births, rank #271
20252025: 1,381 births, rank #251
Walter rose from #271 to #252 for boys between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1918, with 13,338 births.